Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Exodus 20:8-12

In an age of advanced technology, we are a hurried and restless people plagued by speed and noise. God’s remedy for a restless home is the day of rest: the Sabbath.

God gave the gift of the Sabbath to Israel, and He has given to us something even better: the Lord’s day. If we learn how to make the rest day the best day, it will serve as one of the richest blessings our families could ever possess.

The fourth commandment is found in Exodus 20:8-10, which says: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God...”

After creating the world in six days, God rested, and issued a covenant rest, the Sabbath, to Israel. The Sabbath was supposed to be a blessing; but people so manipulated, misused, and abused it that it became a burden.

Then, God gave us Calvary rest through Jesus’s death and resurrection, which was the fulfillment of the Sabbath. Calvary rest is how we apply the commandment today. Adrian Rogers says, “The covenant Sabbath speaks of the finished work of creation. The believer’s rest speaks of the finished work of redemption.”

We celebrate the first day of the week, Sunday, as the Lord’s day: the “Calvary Sabbath”. It was a Sunday when Jesus rose from the dead. It was a Sunday when the disciples were commissioned to preach the Gospel and the Holy Spirit was imparted to them. It was a Sunday when the Church was born; when they met for worship and took their offerings. It’s also when the Book of the Revelation was given to John.

Because the Lord’s day is a day of love, not legalism, we should use our Sundays as time out of love to God:

-Make it a holy day. Commit to worship; make church attendance exciting for the whole family.

-Make it a healthy day. Slow down; we will do more in six days if we learn to rest one day.

-Make it a happy day. Every Lord’s day ought to be an Easter celebration. This is a day of gladness, not of gloom.

Apply it to your life

Remember the Lord’s day as a day of liberty, when Jesus set us free. Make it a holy, healthy, and happy day.